The Pre 4th of July Friday Pop Quiz

Well dear readers we're approaching another holiday weekend around the corner and as such it's time to snap you out of your complacent observation mode and find out whose really been paying attention with a surprise pop quiz. The three day weekend is to home improvement what the Battle of New Orleans was to Andrew Jackson - a little extra time to make mistakes after you're supposed to be all finished. And it's with Andrews steely visage in mind that we've taken charge during long weekends past. So with that said let's take a look at some partial images from our own historical miss-steps. Simply look at the images and take your best guess on the multiple choice below. A correct answer will show you the complete picture, and incorrect answer will reveal something very disturbing indeed...

This image is:

a: fading vapor trails on lightly cloudy afternoon

b:a keen drywall finish honed from days of practice

c: a demonstration of 100 years of roofing neglect.

d: one of those texas chain saw massacre lead-ins




This coffee is...a: rich and delicious

b: bold and satisfying

c: complicated and subtle

d: straddling space, time, and two means of egress.

e: all of the above



Alli looks pleased because:
a: she sees the value of "sweat equity"

b: she sees the humor of it all

c: she has a renewed sense of pride of place

d: she got the boulder and can now get the f*%# out of the dining room floor.



This man is .....
a: reminding me just how many false promises were made

b: a fellow homeowner sharing that 'knowing' glance of too much appetite, too little meal

c. a concerned citizen keeping me and my ideals at arms length

d. my cousin Brian good Buffalo NY people

The sky is the limit

Casual observers may note the sudden shift in color spectrum seen in the new shower: from the melancholy:

before

to the ebullient:

after

This stunning transformation is by no means of lighting trickery, but rather the final peg in the cracker barrel puzzle that is the master bathroom: a shower skylight.

So I can die a happy man, for the remainder of my days will now be spent showering in the suns full color spectra.

and it opens.

So thank you Biggy, you showed me the way:

Roof in a weekend

Contrary to popular scorn and private desire we have not been sitting still this past month.... we've been hard at work on the worst of all renovation tasks: Roofing. It is clear to me now why the roofing industry has been consigned to the ex-cons and ne'er-do-wells of the building industry - it's damn hard work in a damn hot place - so if you're smart you'll get your ass on another part of jobsite quick. It's no mystery why the job site ice boxes fill up with Strohs and the porta-jons fill up with titty magazines when the roofers are on site as one so eloquently said it one day- "roofin' got a funny way of workin on man".

So, with that said, take a deep breath, plug your nose and dive with me into this cesspool of human indignity.

Friday:
well didn't do anything fiday - it was a three day weekend so we weren't sweating it.

Saturday:
The work crew arrives... and promply sets to work on the tear off - i'd like to take this moment to extole the virtures of the 100 year metal roof - ours was about 108 years old which means good for the hundy, been shit for the last 8.

the existing roof sheathing was in decent shape - a mix of random width pine boards

The view from the inside showed a certain Texas Chainsaw Massacre chic

Sunday:
The real work set in- re-sheathing and mocking up the skylights, resetting the plumbing vents.

The small square is the new shower skylight.

The big hole is the future stairwell skylight

Freshly opened...

and now with new rafters

And so the sun sets on day 2 - the new roof now somewhere close to a Georgetown house-wife: with some pretty new clothes just barely covering the years of neglect.

Monday:
Ahhh the harsh light of morn falls on the previous days work...

rollin' out the underlayment.

as the sun was setting we had just enough time to finish rolling down the underlayment and begin rolling on the roll-roof. By the time this was happening the sun had set and we have no photographic proof of the finished product. But the good news is that the roof is on an water tight. We've survived 4 storms and counting with barely a scratch - that scratch being the cut on Brian Gafney's right hand - an injury bound in tape and sealed in a glove described as "swimmy" by days end.
A big thanks to Brian Gafney, Jeff Chown and Neal Thomson for showing up to do the worst kind of work: Roofin'